The government's abuses of power must not be tolerated

Thursday, July 11, 2013

The July 4th holiday is an opportunity to enjoy a BBQ and a day off and of course to pause in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. This year the revelations of misconduct within our federal government have unfortunately given Americans something more disturbing to consider. Recently we have learned of massive NSA data-gathering focused on ordinary citizens, of FBI surveillance of journalists at the Associated Press and other media outlets, and of the discriminatory targeting of political groups by the IRS. It is an understatement to say that these are in stark contrast to the spirit of the Fourth of July and freedoms we celebrate.

There are two points that need to be understood by every U.S. citizen concerning these revelations. First, while we don’t yet know how extensive the spying and intimidation are, we do know these cannot be written off as the activities of a few rogue and overly-zealous individuals given that multiple agencies are implicated. Second, any time such police state activities are tolerated by the citizenry they invariably lead to the loss of civil liberties.

We modern day Americans seem to be conditioned to the idea that such outrages could not possibly happen here. The great observer of human nature and society, Mark Twain, had a different view: “History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” In recent history the administrations of FDR, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Clinton, and G.W. Bush used government agencies to make political opponents sit down and shut up. Now it appears that the tactics of intimidation are being used against groups in opposition to President Obama’s fiscal irresponsibility (as well as against reporters who investigate abuses of federal power). It is the pattern that matters and the pattern today is clear.

The dangerous reality is that these activities simultaneously erode people’s trust in their government and also make them much less likely to speak out to right such wrongs for fear of becoming the next target. Did we not often hear of the “chilling” effect of the Bush policies on political discourse during his tenure in office? Sadly, the abuses of the IRS and other agencies have caused this very effect on many in our country including right here in Chester County. Average citizens – our neighbors and friends – have refused to become politically engaged and public advocacy groups have decided to either not form or to disband. As these folks correctly remark, the lives and reputations of even the most innocent can be quickly ruined by a government run astray.

How do these malicious acts happen in our land of the free? Simple. As government grows larger it naturally becomes less accountable, less transparent, and more controlling of the citizens that it purports to serve. This gives government officials more leverage over the people and more opportunity to invade our personal lives. Take just the “benign” mandate of the IRS – to collect taxes – yet the politicians have created thousands of exemptions, credits, special rules, and disparate tax rates that reward their allies and punish those who don’t conform.

The IRS is less an instrument of collection and much more of a weapon. As noted, the effect can only be to diminish trust and stifle differing points of view. Hardly the tolerant and equitable environment our Founders intended or that we rightly deserve for our republic!

The abuses of power caused by bloated and out-of-touch government can be checked. For example, the IRS can be constrained merely by simplifying and minimizing the tax code such that only enough revenue is generated to carry out the constitutionally permitted activities of the federal government. (Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Orrin Hatch seem to be taking a step in this direction with their work to rewrite the tax code from scratch.) But any reform needs the support of the people. It may be tempting for us to not get involved and let somebody else stand up, yet sooner or later the indiscriminate net of the bureaucratic police state traps even the most passive and innocent.

Today the primary target is the “tea party” – tomorrow it can just as easily be environmentalists, anti-military protesters, religious groups, or amnesty organizations. Let’s not allow the spirit of July 4th to fade after the weekend and remember that we celebrate because ordinary people stood up and stood firm for their civil liberties. We would be wise to heed Thomas Jefferson’s advice, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”